Ricky Arnold. Photo credit: NASA

By Ricky Arnold
An unexpected thunderstorm during my ninth-grade Earth science class led me to an equally unexpected career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and then to NASA.

It was a pretty typical classroom: alphabetically-paired students working at black lab tables and the teacher managing a multitude of tasks at a large multi-functional table that spanned the front of the room. To the right of the blackboard was the dreaded green erasable weather map on which each student spent a week nervously forecasting the daily weather (each of us hoping for five days of blessed, predictable high pressure). One day, following a forecast assuring absolutely no chance of rain, we moved on to the seemingly less-than-dynamic topic of rock formation.

As my teacher guided us through our rock specimens and gleefully pointed out the feldspar, quartz, and mica indicative of a granitic rock, the sky darkened in the windows just behind my desk. A brilliant flash of lightning was immediately followed by a jarring clap of thunder. Most of us jumped.

Mr. Replane instantly let a beautiful piece of granite fall to the floor and was scavenging some stopwatches from the bowels of a nearby cabinet. Within minutes, he had us calculating the distance of the lightning strikes from the window where we now pressed our faces. The math confirmed what we all suspected: Some of the lightning struck very near the baseball fields right behind our classroom.

I was just a typical teen at the time, completely oblivious to the fact that someone had managed to sneak a combined algebra/physics/meteorology exercise by me because I—like the rest of my class —was too caught up in the excitement to notice. However, the single most excited person in that classroom was without a doubt my teacher. His enthusiasm for learning still motivates me and certainly inspired my time in the classroom. Where else was I going to find a job in which I got paid to learn?

In addition, I was learning alongside some of the most inquisitive and open minds that human beings have to offer—middle schoolers. As a teacher, I strove to capture the spirit of wide-eyed discovery that Mr. Replane shared with me at Samuel Ogle Junior High School. I hope I passed that along to some of the students whom I had the honor to teach.

I know this may sound like a selfish rationale for becoming a STEM teacher, but I also had more strategic reasons for becoming a STEM teacher.

First, STEM is where the jobs are. If I want to give a kid a hand up or push forward, I can offer no better tool than the opportunity to enter a field in which dynamic and well-paying jobs can be found. Additionally, for those wishing to explore this career field further, NASA and many big engineering companies offer exciting internships in which students work side-by-side with scientists, engineers, and researchers on real projects that help us understand the complexities of spaceflight and aviation.

Second, but equally important, the only way we are going to address the very real issues that this planet is collectively facing is with a scientifically literate public. Sadly, this is a very real problem in the country that landed the first humans on the Moon. The only way to address it is through education.

Despite the constraints of curriculum, seemingly endless paperwork, and real hardships many kids face daily, as teachers we have the very unique privilege to share with our students our passion for STEM fields. As I and many of Mr. Replane’s other former students can attest, nothing is more contagious than a teacher’s enthusiasm for what he/she is doing. This spark, once lit, is the mechanism with which we can help our students develop the critically needed tools required for economic empowerment and enlightened civic involvement. This is why teaching STEM is so critical, and so special.

Meanwhile, I need to return to studying the communication system on the International Space Station, and I still have a lot to learn. Thankfully, learning has been my joy, not a job.

Mr. Replane, if you happen to read this, e-mail your phone number to Jsc-stemonstation@mail.nasa.gov, and I’ll call you from space to thank you. The STEM career that you and many other teachers inspired me to pursue has taken me to some pretty remarkable places.

Ricky Arnold was a middle and high school science and mathematics teacher for 15 years. He joined NASA in 2004 and has conducted research both undersea, underground, and in outer space. He is scheduled to return to the International Space Station in March 2018. With Arnold’s mission and that of astronaut and former teacher Joe Acaba before it, NASA is celebrating a “Year of Education on Station,” with an unprecedented number of educational outreach activities and resources available. Visit https://goo.gl/KXnyiB to learn more about this unique opportunity to stimulate students’ interest in STEM subjects.

This article originally appeared in the January 2018 issue of NSTA Reports, the member newspaper of the National Science Teachers Association. Each month, NSTA members receive NSTA Reports, featuring news on science education, the association, and more. Not a member? Learn how NSTA can help you become the best science teacher you can be.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

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I’ve been considering adding some live animals to my classroom for my students to study. What should I consider before taking the leap?
—K., Washington

Live animals definitely make science real and much more interesting than pictures, books, or videos can. You can always find a use for them when teaching the nature of science standards and often in disciplinary core ideas. Here are some things you should consider before using animals in your classroom:

First, learn your district and regional laws and guidelines for collecting, importing, transporting, and using wild and tame animals. Read NSTA’s position statement, Responsible Use of Live Animals and Dissection in the Science Classroom at https://goo.gl/b4HMcW.

Practical considerations:

• Will you be able to afford and manage caring for them?
• What contingencies do you have if they escape?
• What care will they need over the weekends?
• Will you take them home or come into the school, allow students to take them home or will custodians volunteer to care for them over breaks? (I gave nice gifts to custodial staff who did this for me.)
• What species will you get? Do you buy them or capture them from the wild?

Of course, there are many animals you can bring into the classroom. I have experience in a few species which I will list below. Ask for details about their care if you’re interested.

Very easy care:
Darkling Beetles (mealworms and superworms), flour beetles, isopods (sowbugs/pillbugs)

Easy care:
Stick insects (Carausius morosus), protozoans, hydra, snails, amphipods (sideswimmers/scuds) and a few other aquatic arthropods

Medium care:
Butterflies, moths, freshwater fish, geckos, ant colonies

Difficult:
Marine fish, anoles

Hope this helps!

Photo Credit:  Anna Frodesiak (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

There are a surprising number of so-called “Pocket Microscopes” available today. I even remember pocket microscopes advertised in the pages of comic books back when I was a kid. And at that time, comic books were not targeting adult readers. There were pocket telescopes as well, and combination pocket microscopes and telescopes. Also radio-pens, X-Ray glasses, a nuclear submarine (for only $6.98) and of course Sea Monkeys.

What has changed with today’s pocket microscopes is three-fold. First, our optical expectations have increased meaning if the magnified image is not razor-sharp, we’ll keep looking (pardon the pun).

Second, the advent of LED lighting makes anything worth illuminating worth illuminating. So any pocket microscope worth its sodium chloride must have an efficient and effective illumination system. And third, the micro optical microscope must be affordable. 

Some would add a fourth dimension in that the optics of the pocket microscope must dovetail with the technology of the present, usually the smartphone camera.

In the case of the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope, all conditions are met, and the price makes a classroom set within financial reach. 

I have always had an affinity for small magnifying optics, and  enjoy putting them in the hands of students because even the most basic and low power magnifiers are magical windows into a whole universe right in front of them. An optical problem arises when the magnification goes up because the the depth of field thins and the more light is needed for the same visual brightness as a lower magnification.

Further, the quality of the optics play a larger roll as the magnification increases. Most traditional looking magnification glasses are about 2x. Smaller ones, maybe 5x. Jeweler’s loupes, those cute little metal-cased lenses often worn around the neck, are usually 10x, and some in the same form factor but smaller reach out to 20x. Using a loupe requires a practiced dance between holding the tool a centimeter from one’s eyeball and balancing the object’s distance from the loupe and the loupe from your eye in order to focus. It truly is a skill.

So handing a 20x magnifier to a student does not instantly cause scientific enthusiasm. Instead, the use of the magnifier is a chore that has little immediate return. However, if the 20x magnifier could be placed directly on the subject allowing a flush focus, and a bright light illuminates the subject causing a deeper depth of focus and contrast, the wonderful world of the microscopic is now easily accessible.

The Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope is a small package not much bigger or smaller than a ping pong ball. The feature-filled Carson 20x Pocket Microscope has an eyepiece, focus wheel, objective lens, LED white light, and LED UV light. There is also a keyring chain. At first I used the keyring to hold onto the scope, but found that a little cumbersome so I removed it.

The surface of the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope is a little slippery so I attached a little texture tape to the grip surface. That tape also solved another thing I noticed in that I routinely pushed the UV light button by accident. While those modifications certainly are not needed, it does make a noticeable difference.

A large ribbed focus wheel covers much of one side of the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope allowing a full 260 degrees of its circle. This access to the focus wheel provides ease of use from many different hand positions, and the low friction spin of the wheel keeps the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope on target as fine adjustments are made. The focus is designed for flush viewing with the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope on or against the subject to be viewed. If the subject is an irregular 3-D shape, some finesse will be needed both acquire and retain focus.

The field of view of the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope is about six millimeters across. The focusing is designed to maximize a flat field with the magnifiers base flush with the subject so turning the wheel is a fine focus of that plane. It does not allow for using the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope above or away from the subject.

The Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope works well in tandem with a smartphone camera. The flush focus aspect of the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope keeps the system stable, and by adding a little zoom to the camera, you can fill up the frame with what the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope sees.

Three battery-powered lighting options are possible with the Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope. A near-lens white LED, an offset white LED and an offset ultraviolet LED. Most lighting will be with then near-lens LED. It provides the most and most direct lighting. However sometimes it is too much, especially on reflective subjects, or where some shadow texture is needed. But mostly the second light makes a good short-range general purpose flashlight. And the UV light adds another visual dimension to those things that glow under ultraviolet which as Sciencenotes.org points out, is quite a few things.

The Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope is a great magnification solution for the classroom and field, as well as adding microscopic superpowers to a smartphone. The Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope comes in three colors, weighs about one ounce (~30 grams), and sells for $13 which is a dollar less than a pair of nuclear submarines!